Conveyer apparatus



July 18, 1950 o. osv o 2,515,404

CONVEYER APPARATUS Filed May 14, 1948 INVENTOR. CZujer 6705067200 l I WM 7 Patentecl July 18, 1950 Oliver'GrosvenorsMm-rison;I112, assignor to Bibby;

McNeilL& Libby,.,Qhicago; l llgaicnrporatidnzofzt- Maine Application May 14; 1948;,Seri'aI'No;26,980"

LClaims... (o1. lea-#121) This invention relates to a v new andiimproved. conveyor apparatus, and more. panticularly'toia rolltype conveyor for rotating andemoving longitudinally-units or: articles which; areegenerally cylindrical in form.

Varioustypes of rollnconveyors'. have been usedh'eretofore for? handling all types. of units or articles. Ingeneral; such conveyors comprise cylindrical rollers to: impart rotation-to the: units: and" other means *such: as; chains,- screwv forms: or othermechanicak means for moving' the? unitalong its axis. In some cases the rolls are.- inclined and: the" unitsmove longitudinally,- under the influence: of". gravity. Allr such; means; and methods result. in. frictional: loss-,.si-nce the unitsare given a sliding motion along therrollisurfacesi;

According. to the: present invention the: unit is; positioned: and maintainedswith its? axis at; an. angle tothe aX-isof the Hill and therolling; contact withthe.- surface causes-into. progress: longif tudinally as well. as. rotate: about its-own. axis... The unit, whichis-generally cylindricaliini form-,; does not move longitudinally-'- in. the line oil-its, own axis, but at an angle thereto. This-move? ment serves to'Igreatly-"minimize sliding friction.

While the unit or generally cylindrical object being conveyed is undergoing rotation and trans lation. or longitudinal. movement,. anydesired treatment may be applied to it.. It; may be heated or cooled, dried orsprayed with a protective coating. The rotating movement may beutilized in the use of the conveyor to mix and agitate the contentsofitheunit. This; agitation is of great value where it isdesired to heatton cool the.'contents, asit acceleratesthe. transfer of heat.- be;- tween the container, its. contents and the. snr= rounding medium... Itisaneimportant advantage also of the presenhinvention'that! this agitation takes the form. of. assmooth; evern flow or: circus lation and: does. not. comprise a shaking or churnin reflect which would tend'th causes-foam?- ins. or other undesirable results.

It will be apparent that the entire conveyor apparatus may be enclosed in a chamber or an autoclave with provisions for the entrance and. exit of units being conveyed through substantially fluid ti ht valves so that any preferred process can be carried out at, above or belo atmospheric pressure. Such forms of apparatus are well known and require no detailed descri tion. Objects of wood, glass. metal, plastic or other suitable material may be treated and. in the case of containers. those of metal, glass, plastic or any other suitable composition may be conveyed.

2: It is an object of 'the present" invention to provide a new and improved roll conveyor:

I't is' aefurther object to provide a conveyorof this characterin which the objects being con 1 veyed are Both rotatedandmoved' longitudinally of the" conveyor;

It is=an additionalobject to provid'ea roll con comprising a single rolland a pair'offixed guides;

Figure 2 is a; plan view; partially broken away; of the construction of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view'ofa modified form' of construction comprising rolls having helic'oidal surfaceswith an cylindrical-roll located therebetweens:

Figure i i's a fragmentaryplan view of the construction of Figure 3;

Figure. 5 is a vertical section through a constructiorrincluding two cylindrical rolls and'an intermediate driving roll having a helicoid'al projection thereon;

Figured is a-fragmentary planvi'ew'of the eonstruction of Figure 5 Figure 7 is an end view of a construction involving one roll with a helicoidal surface and 'an:

ad acent'- guide bar; and

Figure 8 is a" fragmentary side elevation of tlie con truction ofFi'gure If Referring first to the for-m of construction shown inFifg-ures- 1 and 2the cylindrical-T011 12" is supported on stub axles I3 and the parallel guide bars !5 and it are located above the roll. As clearly shown in Figure 2, the guide bars extend at an angle to the axis of the roll it. These bars I5 and it are parallel and cause the unit H, which is being conveyed. to be held at an angle to the surface of roll 12. This causes the object to be given both rotary and a longitudinal movement while minimizing the friction between the surface of roll l2 and the unit during this movement.

The form of construction shown in Figures 3 and 4 includes a central cylindrical roll 2| carried on stub shaft 22. Located on each side of 1 rolls 24 and 25 are provided with helicoidal surfaces, the major portions of which, as shown at 29 and 30, are of greater axial length than the length of the units 32 adapted to be translated or moved longitudinally by the conveyor system. The pivoted member 34 with the long arm 35 and short arm 36 serves to transfer the units 32 from one side to the other of the central cylindrical roll 2|. The unit 32 engaging the sloping longer leg 35 rides up and over. the top of the roll 2|, dropping down against the shorter leg 36. This causes the member 34 to swing in the counter-clockwise direction about its pivot 38.-

This movement brings the longer leg 35 in a position to prevent further forward movement of the next unit and the consequent jamming of the transfer point; As soon as the member 32 has cleared the short leg 36, the transfer member swings back by gravity to its normal position.

as shown in Figure 4, and a succeeding unit 32 may be similarly transferred. It will be noted that the helicoidal surfaces of rolls 24 and 25 1 are oppositely inclined so that the second movement is in the'reverse directions, as shown by the arrows in Figure 4.

The construction of Figures 5 and 6 includes thecylindrical rolls 4!! and 4| and the intermediate roll 43 having the helicoidal-projection 44.

I16 and the rolls 4!] and 4|. 46 at an angle to its axis of forward movement and carries it forward at a speed dependent upon the pitch of the helicoidal surface 44 and the speed of rotation of the roll 43. As shown, the

pitch of the surface 44 is greater than the length of the unit 45 being moved, and ordinarily this relationship is preferable.

The form of construction shown in Figures 7 and 8' includes the helicoidal roll 5| carried on stub shafts 52, the roll having a helicoidal surface 53 in general similar to the surfaces of the rolls 24 and 25of Figures 3 and 4. The guide bar 55 is fixedly supported adjacent and parallel to the roll- 5|. The spacing is such as to support the unit 51 being conveyed at a point above the horizontal plane of the axis 'of the roll'5l 'As clearly shown in the drawings, the axis of the unit 57 is non-parallel to the axis of the roll 5|, and the unit moves longitudinally with a minimum'of fric- I tion between the unit and the surface on which it rolls:

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown, these are to' be understood to be illustrative only, as'it'is capable of further modification to meet differing conditions and requirements. I'contemplate such modificaguide means.

tions as come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A conveyor comprising a rotatable roll and means spaced from said roll for guiding a cylindrical unit to be conveyed in frictional contact with the roll and at an acute angle to the axis of rotation of the roll, said guiding means comprising a pair ofspaced guides located above the roll, said guides having parallel axes making an acute angle with the axis of the roll, the unit to be conveyed fitting between the guides and resting on the roll.

. 2. A conveyor"co mprising a rotatable cylindrical roll, and parallel guide means spaced from and above the roll, the axes of the guide means making an acute angle with the axis of the roll, said guide means being spaced to guide cylindrical units resting on the roll and to maintain said units with their axes making an acute angle with the axis of the roll while restricting only lateral movement of the units. A

3. A conveyor comprising a substantially horizontalrotatable' cylindrical roll and non-rotatable guide means spaced from-said roll and having a fixed guide surface making an acute angle with the 'axis of'the roll,'sa id roll being adapted to support a unit resting thereon and engaging 3,0, the guide surface whereby the friction due to gravity causes the unitto'be rotated and moved linearly of the roll in contact with the guide surface.

' 4. A conveyor comprising a substantially horizontal rotatable cylindricalroll, and fixed cylindrical guide means spaced from and above the axis of the roll, the axis of the guide means making an'acute anglejwith the/axis of the roll, the spacing of roll and guide surfaces being such that a cylindrical object resting on the'roll and guided by the guide means has the major portion of its weight carried by theroll whereby the friction due to gravity causes the object to be rotated and moved linearly of theroll' in contact with the g K OLIVER. GRQSVENQR.

,V-REFERENCES CITED ,The following references, are of record inithe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I 

